Silence for Sandy Hook Elementary

If you are looking for some guidance as far as how to teach and guide your student's tomorrow morning not knowing which eyes have been watching the news over the weekend, look here.

Whether you live nearby or far away from Sandy Hook, children can sense when adults are upset or saddened-whether or not they have heard about the tragedy.


I'll leave you with this sweet glimpse of hope:

Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38,

When 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.

Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.

They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.

They were filled with such joy, they didn't know what to say.

They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.

"Where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.

"This is heaven." declared a small boy. "We're spending Christmas at God's house."

When what to their wondering eyes did appear,

But Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.

He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.

Then He opened His arms and He called them by name,

And in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring.

Those children all flew into the arms of their King,

And as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,

One small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.

And as if He could read all the questions she had,

He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of Mom and Dad."

Then He looked down on earth, the world far below,

He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe.

Then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,

"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"

"May this country be delivered from the hands of fools."

"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"

Then He and the children stood up without a sound.

"Come now my children, let me show you around."

Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.

All displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.

And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,

"In the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, PA

12 in 12 Linky

I'm linking up with Miss Kindergarten and A Teeny Tiny Teacher for the 12 in '12 linky party!

I am not as interesting or entertaining as these two ladies, but I thought it would be fun to join! 

12. Favorite movie you watched: 

 The Hunger Games.  Hands down.  End of story.

11. Favorite TV series: 

The New Girl….who's that girl?  It's Jess.  

This is actually my only TV show.  I love the fact that she is a teacher who I can totally relate to.  I wear glasses, a cardigan and sing songs to myself ALL DAY Long!  Instead of viewing myself as a nerd, I'd like to think I'm as cute and funny as Zoe Deschanel.

10. Favorite restaurant: 

I don't have a favorite restaurant at the moment, but authentic Mexican food is climbing the ladder. (Shhhhh. Don't tell Mr. Husband.  He thinks I can't stand it.) 

9. Favorite new thing you tried: 

Conscious Discipline.
It has saved my teaching career and sanity!  Everyday is a better day because of it.  I am constantly being a "Star" in the classroom. (Smile. Take a deep breath. And Relax)

Check it out here and here. 

8. Favorite gift you got: I would love to say my new-to-me car…however it was less of a gift and more of a lot of money paid by yours truly.
I guess my backup answer would be:
2 IPod Touches from donors choose.org.  Post a project.  You will be surprised at how easy it can be!

7. Favorite thing you pinned: Finding Rachel F's teaching website and Whole Brain Videos.  What an amazing teacher! 

 Check her out here.

6. Favorite blog post: 

Definitely this one.  It captures the essence of my passion for teaching.  I am terrified of making mistakes, yet so excited when things get started.  I absolutely LOVE Writer's Workshop and this post tells why.  

"It is better to have tried and failed, than to not have tried at all." 

5. Best accomplishment: 

I would have to say taking on this school year as a whole.  If you would have told me a year ago all the things that would have happened over these past 4 months, I would have said 

1. You are crazy. 

2. You can't be serious. 

3. What are you smoking?

4. Is this April Fool's Day?

Starting at a BRAND NEW school with 12 students and ending this semester with 22 is a big change that I was not expecting. 

4. Favorite picture: 

This girl is my inspiration for all things teaching and blogging.  I don't know what I would have done without her these past 2 years as a teacher. This picture was taken at Barnes and Nobles where we spend the afternoon at a Writer's Workshop Institute looking through Children's Literature.  It was also her last day at our Region Service Center.
 She has challenged my thinking as a teacher of writing and as a writer myself.  Because of Leach Teach I am beyond excited to be a teacher!

3. Favorite memory: 

My favorite memory would probably be going to London.  Not school related at all but I think it deserves a shout out.  I went with my oldest sister and we surprisingly made it back alive.  We both are a bit directionally challenged.  Who's ideas was it again to go to Paris on a whim where they speak French WITHOUT our smart phones?  That day ended with us trying to ride the Metro, getting lost underground, and taking photos of the names of our subway route in order to find our way back.  Oh, and almost getting robbed.  CrAzY!
But London was, to say the least, lovely.
My 1st time out of the country and my 2nd time flying by myself.  So.Much.Fun.

2. Goal for 2013: Become more efficient as a teacher.  A mentor teacher and friend who used to be across the hall from me last year is the most efficient teacher I know.  I want to become more like her so that I can spend time with my family-outside of the classroom-doing the things that make me a more interesting teacher.

1. One Little Word: relax.  

My personality is Type A, up-tight, panties-in-a-wod.  I am learning how to relax and take things one step at a time.  Turning off my brain after school is a necessity for next year.

Don't forget to link up and read all of the other blogs!  

Happy Blogging! 

Hubba Wha?

I never like it when I read a blog and the first thing the teacher says is "I haven't blogged in forever.  I've been so busy."  

But here I go…..

My teaching life just got Crazy..with a capital C.

Update:  I had a restful Thanksgiving break.  I went to the windy city AND went to the beach down south.  Cold and warm all in one vacation.  It was delightful.  I got to wear my swimsuit as well as my favorite scarf (not at the same time, silly.) Big city meets book on the beach. It was too good to be true. *sigh*

When I came back from the too-good-to-be-true break, my class size doubled.  

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I now have 22 students instead of 12. 

(I know what you are thinking. It's not quite double, but in my book that's a lot of extra bodies in a classroom)

I don't know how the normal public school teachers do it with 22, 24, and 29 in a classroom? That's absurd!  

To make a long story short, my head is barely above water, and I'm in survival mode until Christmas break.  I am trying my hardest to give these students exactly what they need.  It is so much easier to feel like a good teacher (kind, caring, compassionate, and actually TEACHING) with a small class size.  It truly does make a difference!

My life saver this past week and a half has been Conscious Discipline.  It has seriously saved my life….and a few student's as well.  I am so glad I stubbled upon it this summer.  The funny thing is, I have only read through chapter 3.  It's ridiculous how much of an impact reading the book has made on my teaching career.  I cannot wait to read more and my students cannot either.  

Does anyone have a word of advice for my classroom?  I'd love to hear your thoughts or ideas!

-The Frizz

Math

google image

Ditto that Barbie.

Math is even harder to teach.

At our district, we teach using the Everyday Math Program.

If you are unfamiliar with the curriculum, here is a synopsis: If you look at the "Big Picture" it is a great program, providing intense spiraling of skills, but if you glance at a day in the life of a first grade teacher, it looks more like a nightmare.

After 2 years of teaching with it, and trying almost every possible teaching format, I am here to announce that it cannot be done I still haven't found the exact formula- BUT I am getting closer!

What is the most effective way to teach math in first grade?

What have you tried that works?

What have you tried that doesn't work?

What about centers? whole group lessons? small groups? conferences? math tubs?

Here's what it looks like for me at this point in the school year:

Calendar Morning Work (5 minutes) 

Check calendar work/ addition speed drill (10 minutes)

Math Mini Lesson (10 minutes if I'm short winded- which never happens!)

 Math Guided Practice/Independent Practice in their math Journal (10 minutes)

RECESS BREAK (aka put my head back on and find all of my hair that I pulled out)

Center Rotation 1 (teach small group or one on one)

Center Rotation 2 (teach small group or one on one)

The way that we introduced Centers this year was much like the way we introduced The Daily Five in Reading this year.  There are 4 skills that we knew our firsties needed to practice weekly.  We wrote out an anchor chart for each and gradually introduced them to our students- building their stamina for each.

M-math manipulatives

A- math alone

T- math together

H- helping build math

They rotate to 2 centers a day, which *almost* means they get through everything twice a week. (I've added iPods and computers to the mix which slows things down a bit).

Here's more on the actual centers:

Math Manipulatives is a place where students can explore certain math tools for learning.  I usually put the manipulative here a few weeks before we use it in a lesson.  This cuts down on the desire to play with the tool during the lesson. Brilliant!

Math Alone began with students scrolling on a 100s chart.  I have to brag and say I have students who are currently working on numbers past 1,000!  We have since introduced their math journal and math boxes to the center.

Math Together is for playing math games with a partner.  I am thankful that Everyday Math provides a lot of game ideas.

Helping Build Math is exactly what it sounds.  In the beginning, when our first graders had not gained the independence, we included puzzles.  Currently, we have students building linking cube patterns, but the possibilities are endless.

I  still have not perfected pulling my small groups yet.  It seems there is always something that takes my attention and squishes my teaching time.

With the help of this book:

I plan on mastering the art of teaching math. 

How do you make math work in your classroom?  

New Student

I  got a new student on Wednesday.

Brand new.

Brand new...to our school.

Brand new….to Read to Self.

Brand new….to Partner Reading.

Brand new…..to Word Work.

Brand new….to Listen to Reading.

Brand new…..to Writer's Workshop.

Brand new…..to Math centers.

Brand-stinkin-new.


After 34 days of training, teaching, modeling, building our stamina, and modeling some more my students were getting the hang of it. (More than getting the hang of it…they were ROCKIN OUT at the Daily 5!)

This week I was challenged with the task of starting from scratch with one student while maintaining the rest of my student's routines and behaviors. It was as if we all forgot what the expectations were.  I had so many students raising their hands and coming up to me with questions- which we had NOT done in the past!)

Let me tell you, I was overwhelmed.  Playing catch up and expecting to squeeze 34 days worth of instruction and routines into this student's first day was NOT happening well.

Today, I ran across an article on the Sister's website that eased my worries.

Here's what they recommended:

1. Model, review, and Model again.  There is no harm in having students model the correct and not correct way to read again.  It benefits all students!

2. Provide your new student with a buddy.  This relationship should act like a "shadow" (much like you would see as a new waitress in training).  The new student will follow the veteran student around during the D5.  This is a chance for the helper to explain the whys and hows with a whisper in the ear.  That way, the teacher is able to conference with others and not break her routine. (Brilliant idea!)

3. Model, review, and model again!

I'm wondering what you do when you get a new student?

Do you have any helpful tips for me?

I'd love your feedback!

Friday Flashback

I am linking up with Teaching Maddeness for a look back at what has happened in the classroom!

Here is a week in photos:

In math, we introduced IPods into our center rotations!
Hip Hip Hurray! 

We learned a new game called Penny Nickel Exchange.

We also added computer centers to our math rotations!  It was a BIG week in First Grade!
(Website: Spacey Math)

Math Puzzles Review.

Listen to Reading with big books!
*Favorite photo*

Word Work with Wiki Sticks

Sorting Letters, Words, and Sentences to get ready for next week's focus lesson:
complete sentences.
(I found this freebie from Heather's Heart.  Click here: Pete the Cat Sort Freebie to get your copy!
 I love her blog and you will too!)

In writing, we added our Special Places Map into our Writer's Notebook!
This firstie picked to add the library.  :)
This idea was inspired by Leach Teach.  Go check out her blog.  You will LOVE her! 

In Science we focused in on Oceans.
Here we made a replica of the Ocean floor complete with mountains, valleys, high and low tides,
and currents (with straws).  

It was a busy week! Add a new student to the mix and trying to teach him 34 days worth of routines and instruction! I am one tired teacher.  But I *LOVE* my students.

They are super sweet and helpful!  Especially to the new student. I cannot tell you how many times I heard someone helping him figure out our routines in First Grade.  It made my job so much easier!  I am so thankful to have such a sweet bunch this year!


Now I am off to see one of my firsties star in his first soccer game.  He invited me at recess yesterday and told me all about how he is going to get to play goalie and wear fancy gloves that makes his hands sweaty! I love their honesty!

What have you done this week?

Link up with me here:   *Flashback Friday*

Technology Overload

A few weeks ago, our classroom received a package.  We had to wait until the VERY end of the day to open it.  The anticipation was driving us bonkers as we stared at the brown fed-ex box.

(Grainy Android Photo)

In the box was TWO IPod Touches for learning!  To say we were ecstatic would be an understatement.  It was interesting to see how many of my firsties could tell me exactly what the technology was and was not. I immediately got lots of "That's an ipod touch, NOT an iPhone." and "You can't call anyone on it but you can play lots of games."and "My sister/brother/aunt/uncle/mom/grandpa/dog/ has one of those!"

Google Image

AND THEN, this past week, our classroom received yet another package.  I received it after school and absolutely positively could not wait until the next day to open in with the kids.  I ripped into this one and found:

A brand-stinkin' new LAPTOP!

At this point, you are probably wondering   Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

I'm about to let you on the  big secrets.  Shhhhh.  Don't tell!

*This new technology came from donorschoose and costs me/my school $0!*

I stumbled upon this website last year when a fellow co-worker told me about it.  She had purchased a new bookshelf for her classroom library AND got her and her teaching partner all new student desks.

Donorschoose is a a website for teachers who create projects based on what their classroom needs.  You will find projects of crayons, pencils, and glue sticks as well as computers, projectors, and furniture.  How it works is any person can donate to your project. Anyone.  Friends, family, co-workers, strangers you've never met, or businesses.  At any given time, you can find an organization to match your donors *dollar-for-dollar*  It is truly an amazing idea.

I set up my account sometime in between my first and second year of teaching, but I never created a project.  I was scared.  I couldn't bring myself to do it because...let's get real.  I don't know anyone with a lot of $.  I didn't want to create a project that was not funded.  I didn't want to fail.

This year, I was relocated to a brand new school.  My circumstances caused me to reevaluate my fears.

When we opened our school doors, there wasn't a single computer in our building that teachers or students could access. 

"What?" You say.  "How can you possibly stalk other bloggers, get on pinterest, check your facebook, or update your twitter write lesson plans, update your online grades, take attendance, or email parents/administrators without a computer?"  

I will be the first one to tell you: You can't do any of those things.

We were told the computers were on their way.  But it was driving me crazy to the point where I couldn't function as a teacher.  I decided to take things into my own hands.  I'm a bit of a control freak self-starter.

I first posted a project for 2  Ipods. I was nervous to put a computer on because I honestly didn't think I could fund it.  

Within 3 days of me posting the project it was funded.  THREE DAYS?  

That was so easy.  They send me a email saying they had shipped my new toys learning tools.

Next, I posted a laptop and Cah-Bam! Funded. Shipped.  

Signed.  Sealed. Delivered. 

The whole shenanigans. 

<I'm almost positive I have exhausted all of my grandmother's generous donor's resources.  And I don't want to push my luck.  I am going to take it easy on the projects for a while.  >

But I'm writing you to tell you that you can and should do it.  Check it out here.

Think about what your students would benefit from the most that you do not have and just ASK.

It's almost that easy.

Now onto a very important topic that I need your advice on....

I do not want to end up like this:

Google Image

 I need to keep all of my hair intact on my head.  But this new technology situation, (albeit: the possibilities are endless for my kiddos and learning.  I'm not bashing it one bit.  I'm grateful for the technology. Really.  I am.  Honest.) it is driving me crazy.

How do you manage to incorporate your technology into your student's learning?

Do you have a pocket chart? A schedule that tells you which students are going where?  Do you let the student's choose?

And how do you teach them to become independent with the technology?  I even have a technology helper, but those poor little firsties just do not have experience with some of it- especially the tape players! "What IS that?"

I currently have 2 Ipod Touches, 1 cd player, 2 tape players, and *will* have 4 computers.

How do I manage it all effectively?

I'd love to know your thoughts :)

-The Frizz in First

P.S. It has been raining nonstop for 8 hours today and my hair is FRIZZ-EE! And I haven't even stepped foot outside.  Yikes!

Taking the Plunge

Today was the day.

After building my students' writing stamina for 24 days of school, I was finally ready for our first writing conferences.  We had actually reached our 20 minutes of independence goal for a few days, but I was putting off conferencing.  My students are angels this year.  They are as close to PERFECT as children get.  To be honest, I could have conferenced the first day of school and my students would have been fine. But we took it slow.  I didn't want to rush and regret it weeks down the road.  We have been busy filling our writer's notebooks so that student's have a place to find ideas for writing.

After viciously taking notes during writing time for weeks, I decided to take the plunge and confer today.

Dun.Dun.Dun.

Why was I so nervous?  

Why had I been putting off the meat of the workshop? 

Why wasn't I looking forward to conferring during the Writer's Workshop?

The answer lies in my fears as a writer.  

If I am not a confident writer, how will I confidently teach writing?  

Today I took a risk and decided to confer.  Not only did I decide to confer, but I decided to meet with *from my perspective* the student who needed me the most.  I could have met with a student who was succeeding in the writing process in order to make myself feel a little bit better, but I am so glad I met with this student first.  Here's what the background knowledge:

Student 1 has filled her writing journal with about 7-8 pages of the following:

my cat my dog my frg my cat my dog my frg my cat my dog my frg my cat my dog my fg mycat my 

(you get the idea?)  Pages and pages of this four words.  The pictures did match the words- Student 1 drew pictures of the cat, the dog, and the frog….over and over and over again.

My first thought was, "Where do I start as a teacher of writing?" 

I asked myself that question and felt instantly overwhelmed.  Not because I didn't know the answer, but because I knew too many answers.  How could I pick JUST ONE THING to teach this student during our conference?

Here is what the conference sounded like:

I walked up on the student using their writer's gum to sound out the word cat (Even though it was written on the paper about 15 times already…).  I asked the student to read the story.  The student read my cat my dog my frog exactly how it looked.  I then asked the student to tell me about the story.  "The girl has a cat and the cat ran away"  Instantly I knew what I was going to teach:  "There's a girl in your story?  I didn't know there was a girl in your story.  I didn't see those words.  Can you add those words?"  Now I could/should have stopped there, but I couldn't stop there.  I then explained that I didn't know the cat ran away because I didn't hear those words.  We then counted the words "The cat ran away." and the student wrote those words. HURRAY!  I decided to move on to my next conference.

It's not that my students became amazing writer's or that I was an amazing teacher.  The reason I am so excited about conferencing is because it was a step in the right direction- AND it was easier than I thought!

My encouragement for you is to get out there and confer!  

Just do it!  

You have NOTHING to loose- only experience to gain!

Where are you at in the Writer's Workshop process?  I would LOVE to know your thoughts!

A Dare.

This week I am really trying to focus on letting my words encourage instead of wound in the classroom- and especially in the teacher workroom.

It is too easy to complain.  I am always quick to point out the negative in everyone.

But we, as teachers, are called to find the good in our students and co-workers.  

Take the road less traveled by.

Inspire someone tomorrow.

I dare you :)

Sappy Monday

Today I am having a sappy Monday.  I am totally okay with it.  Some days you need a good cry over a long day of work.  

Being a teacher is so much more than a job- it's an all-consuming love. 

I saw this on a friends Facebook page and was inspired.  I hope you can find some truth to this (especially if you've been reading Conscious Discipline by Dr. Becky Bailey)

Keep doing what you are doing. 

It is worth it to the students in your classroom.

Spreading the Word

The ladies over at Primary Possibilities are trying to reach 500 followers!  They have great ideas and amazing FREEBIES!

Follow Here

If they reach 500 followers, they will give away their On the Back Pack for free!  They are SO close!

Also, Alisha over at The Bubbly Blonde Teacher has a friend that is in need.  If you donate $20 to her cause, you will receive some great quality teacher files in return.  You can find our more information here.

This year is going great.  I am actually afraid to blog about how wonderful my students are- don't want to jinx it! 

Happy Sunday!

I LOVE Mo Willems!

Yes!  I am happily married to Mr. Husband, but I still love Mo!

My students have been hard at work learning the routines of first grade!

The beginning of the year can be daunting with all of the training and procedures, but this year has been rainbows and butterflies thanks to Mrs. Cooley!

Last semester I purchased her Mo Willems author study on TPT.  I tried it out with my kids at the end of the year, and we L-O-V-E loved it!
(He's the Pigeon and Elephant and Piggie author)

I decided to begin my year with Mo.
My dream was that my newbies would fall in love with reading his books!

I have never seen students more engaged in a read aloud than when they are reading a Willems book.
And the activities in the pack are so much fun as well!

Our Thinking Caps from Hurray for Amanda and her Alligator

Straight from Mrs. Cooley's website:

The wondrous pigeon items included in this activity pack:
Paper pigeon craft-tivity idea (pg. 1)
Dear Mr. Bus Driver (pg. 2)
Speech bubble fill-in (pg. 3)
Pigeon Pictograph (pgs. 4-8)
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive...{class book idea} (pgs. 9-10)
Pigeon & Duckling mini stick puppets/large cut outs (pgs.11-13)
Which Type of Hot Dog Do You Like Best Graph (pgs.14-18)
The Pigeon Wants a Puppy think aloud suggestions, graphic organizer, writing paper (pgs. 19-21)
Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late: P.J. Party Invitation and Coffee Cup (pgs. 22-24)
Giant Pigeon for bulletin board photo and descriptive word idea (pg. 25)
Hooray for Amanda and Her Alligator Thinking Caps (pgs. 26-27)
Where is Knuffle Bunny Pop-Up Class Book idea with washing machine printable (pgs. 28-29)
Knuffle Bunny Art and writing activity idea (pg. 30)
Knuffle Bunny comparison chart (pg. 31)

If you haven't purchased the author study, you should! It's only a click away!

Happy Hump Day!

MIA

I have been MIA for a while, but I've got a good reason!  

I finally got to move into my new school last week.  

In Service began on Wednesday.

I am in the process of presenting two Professional Development sessions for my district. 

We had meet the teacher night tonight!  

(I am already loving my students! I don't want to jinx myself, but as of right now, I have ten students in my class.  I always say, the more the merrier, but bring on the one-on-one instruction! TEN! Can you even imagine?)

Here's a look at what I've been up to!

~A week in pictures~

Teacher's Heaven!

Exciting and exhausting!

Before.
Empty.
 Brand-stinkin-new.

What it looked like when I left that night. YIKES!

Work in Progress

Yes, the big blank wall is going to have a white board soon (I'm crossing my fingers!)

Teacher desk, cafe menu, and calendar wall

Finished!

What'd you think?

Attention Texas Teachers

Howdy Bloggers!

Do you drink coke instead of soda or pop?

Are you fix'n to go to the store instead of fix'n things that are broken?

Do you wear cowboy boots and wranglers?

Do you find yourself saying Yeehaw and fine tooting?

You weren't born in Texas, but you got here as soon as you could?

Does the word ya'll roll off the tongue?

Do you have a cousin, brother, nephew, and uncle named Bubba?

Do you eat dinner for lunch and supper for dinner?

Are you a teacher in Texas?

If you said YES to one of the above questions (preferably the last one) LISTEN HERE:

Diane over at Teaching with Moxie is putting together a 

Texas Teacher Blog List!  

Click here or visit her blog for more details!

Adios!

The Frizz

Made it Monday* and a Linky Party

Greetings Bloggers!

I've been busy at a training for the past two days that a neighboring district invited me to.  Can you believe I have SEVEN days until I start school???  SEVEN!  EEKK!  Good thing I went to the pool today after my training.  I will just say that I came away with two great resources today (not from the pool, the training)!

Have you heard of Dr. Ruby Payne?  If you haven't, you should check out her books, Research Based Strategies or Understanding Poverty.  Very good information for teachers who work with middle class, wealthy, or poor students. More on that later.


I am linking up with 4th Grade Frolics for Made It Monday.

It seems like I am always the last to do everything in blog land!  Better late than never :)

Look at what I made*

*(repainted counts as making something in my book!)

$10 easel from a thrift store I bought last summer!

I decided it was time to pull it out of the closet and actually use it!

I know most teachers get to have one of those nice easels from Lakeshore Learning that costs $$$,
but this will be gold at my school!

I decided to keep the cute little frog because it's green!

My listening center headphone rack.
My husband talked me into painting it orange- even though it's my least favorite color, I think it turned out pretty cute!

Forgot to snag a photo of the before.  It was originally 50 shades of blue (see 2 photos below).

Finished product!

Here is the fabric to hide the *organized* clutter- I still need to hem it up.

Hand-me-down shelf.
Orignal color.  50 shades?

Hip Hip Hurray!

In other news….

 Teaching with Moxie is hosting her first ever Linky Party!  I am so excited to join!  I have been desperately (and unsuccessfully) trying to find *FREE* information about Daily Five Math.  My team teacher and I decided to just go for it this year based on what we knew about ELA D5. 

I am excited to share what we will be doing the first few weeks with you in a future post, but I am much more excited to learn from YOU!  

Be sure to link up (HERE)!

Thanks for stopping by!

-The Frizz

The Awards Ceremony

After successfully linking up with the Newbies Blog Hop I have had so much fun getting to know some fellow newbies.  When I receive a comment, I always go check out their cute blogs for inspiration.

I have some exciting news for you:

1. I have 10 followers!  I am excited to get to know each and every one of them!
(You ladies are too kind.)
2. I have been nominated for 2 different awards!

Drumroll please.

I am so honored to receive these two awards.  Thank you to Mrs. Livers from Starring in First Grade, Laura from Oh, How Pinteresting! (Cute title!), and Kim from Lessons, Learning, & Laughter!  This post would not be possible without you :)  Go check out their up and coming blogs!

Guidelines for the combined awards:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you

(and follow their blog)

2. Link back to the person who nominated you

3. Include the award image in your post

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award

6. When nominating, include a link to their blog

7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated

And the Versatile/One Lovely Blog Award Goes to ….

(in no particular order)

1. Owl See You in Third Grade

2. Happy Kinders

3. Primary Pizzazz

4. Tearless Teaching

5. Just a Primary Girl

6. Teaching with Moxie

7. The Hands On Teacher in First

8. Life in Room 406

9. 3rd Grade Troops

10. Ray of Kindergarten Sunshine

11. Mrs. Mayhew

12. Once Upon a Third Grade Class

13. Mrs. Langley's Class

14. C is for Cookies, Cakes, Children, Classroom, and Crafts

15. Kinder's A Hoot

7 Random Fact about The Frizz

1. All within the year 2010 I received my bachelor's degree, got married, signed my first official apartment lease, and got my first real job teaching FIRST graders! (lots of firsts!)

2. I think wearing orange, red, or pink clashes with my red hair.  These colors tend to be my least favorite.

3. I have been known to have the temper that comes along with red hair. 

(The first step is admitting right?)

4. I am the youngest of three sisters.  

We all graduated college the exact same semester.  

I got married, and they both followed within a year and 1/2.

5. I love giraffes!  I think they are the most creative and interesting creatures on earth! 

6. I want to wear my bridesmaids dress to a fancy party because it is green and cute.  (See #4)

7.  My favorite number is eight, so I am a little tempted to create another random fact just so I can use the number 8!

Thanks for stopping by!